UConn needs Faris to step up and score

Rich Elliott, News-Times

Rich Elliott, Staff Writer

Published 10:45 pm, Tuesday, November 9, 2010

SAN ANTONIO - APRIL 06: Lorin Dixon (L) and Kelly Faris of the Connecticut Huskies hug each other as they celebrate after a 53-47 victory over the Stanford Cardinal during the NCAA Women's Final Four Championship game at the Alamodome on April 6, 2010 in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Lorin Dixon;Kelly Faris
Photo: Jeff Gross, Getty Images

STORRS -- Scoring has not been a priority for UConn sophomore Kelly Faris. She has done exactly what has been needed to help her teams win. Usually, tending to the blue-collar aspects of the game is what has earned her playing time and recognition.

Faris, a 5-foot-11 guard, did not score a point in 52 minutes in two games at the Final Four last April in San Antonio. Yet, she was one of the most influential players on the court.

Her roles last season were to play defense, rebound and make the right pass. This season, though, coach Geno Auriemma has made it clear that the Huskies need Faris to be a scorer.

"It's doing what coach asks you to do,'' Faris said. "He's still getting on me a lot because I've still got to get out of my old mindset of just constantly passing the ball. But when coach Auriemma, a guy like that, asks you to do something, then you've got to change it. He wants me to be more competitive on the offensive end and that's what I've got to do.''

Faris is not a complete stranger to being an offensive threat. She completed her career at Heritage Christian High School in Indiana ranked second in team history with 1,426 points.

Last season, she averaged 4.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 18.9 minutes over 39 games off the bench for the Huskies, who host Indiana (Pa.) tonight (7, XL Center) in their final exhibition game. However, she shot just 38.2 percent from the field, which is one reason why she spent a great deal of time during the off-season working on her shooting.

"It's going to be a little bit of a struggle for her because she's got the ball in her hands a lot more now,'' Auriemma said. "And that's going to take some getting used to. And I want to encourage her to think of herself as a scoring threat, not just, `I'm a role player. I play defense. I rebound.'"

Auriemma has praised Faris, who reached double figures in scoring just three times a year ago, throughout the preseason for being more offensive-minded and more confident. It showed during UConn's 112-41 exhibition victory over Franklin Pierce on Nov. 4.

Faris finished with 11 points (5-of-7 FG). She scored on put-backs, off cuts to the basket and off the drive.

"That was definitely something I was working on, but he's going to want more than that every game," Faris said. "It is progress. But, at the same time, I have to keep it consistent and move forward and not take any steps back."

The Huskies are in need of a third scorer. At this point, Faris is a prime candidate to step into that role.

"I can't sit here and say, `Yeah, I have to score 15, 16 points or whatever it is every game,'" Faris said. "But I don't think that I'm going to get by scoring two points or four points every game. I think he wants me up there. The way his mindset is, and the way our team is right now, we have to have more than just two scorers.''